CHICAGO (CN) - Police officers in a Chicago suburb sat in front of a home for 20 minutes, then without any provocation shot the family dog, who had been calmly sitting on the front porch, the dog's owner claims in court.

Randy Green sued the Village of South Holland, police Officer Chad Barden and other unknown officers, in Federal Court.

South Holland, pop. 21,000, is a southern suburb of Chicago.

"On Sunday, July 22, 2012, two South Holland Police Officers arrived in separate vehicles at the home of Randy Green between 9-10 am, to investigate a purported dog off-leash (at large)," the complaint states.

"Upon information and belief, a caller had identified the dog at large as 'a big old gray dog runnin' around.' The caller made no mention of the dog being dangerous, vicious, or aggressive. ...

"The two South Holland officers arrived while plaintiff Randy Green and his family were asleep inside of their home, and where Mr. Green's Cane Corso dog, Grady, was sitting on the front porch.

"Upon information and belief, the chain holding Grady in the Green family backyard had popped, allowing Grady to be off leash on and around Mr. Green's residence.

"Both South Holland officers were equipped with dog-catching poles in the trunks of their vehicles, but neither attempted to use the dog-catching poles to capture the purported dog at large.

"South Holland officer Chad Barden stood, with his gun drawn, near the Green family home while the dog Grady sat on the front porch.

"The accompanying South Holland officer stood, leaning against his own police vehicle, approximately 100 feet away from Officer Chad Barden.

"The dog Grady walked past both officers on more than one occasion without incident, thereafter lazily returning to the front porch of the Green residence.

"At no time did the dog Grady make physical contact with either officer.

"The South Holland police officers stood outside the Green family home for approximately twenty minutes.

"At this time, the dog Grady approached Officer Barden again as he was standing nearest the Green family home.

"Shortly thereafter, Officer Barden shot the dog Grady three times for no reason."

Grady, wounded, ran into the back yard and Green "rushed outside" to help him and take him to a vet.

Citing an "Expert Report," Green claims that "video surveillance footage from the Green family residence revealed the absence of any charging, lunging or showing of teeth by the dog Grady and instead showed the dog Grady seeking 'greater distance between the officer and himself,' displaying 'calming [body] signals' by 'looking away from the officers and showing his [Grady's] flank,' and moving in a 'trot.'" (Brackets in complaint.)

The family immediately "took Grady to an emergency veterinary facility where Grady was treated," the complaint states.

Meanwhile, "South Holland police officers walked onto the residential property of Randy Green, including his backyard and other private areas near his home," Green claims.

A month later, South Holland police delivered a letter accusing Green of having a dangerous dog.

It is not just shooting dogs....
Before leaving the USSA for good in 2004, I noticed that cops, even in small towns, had morphed from being the “good old boy” to being jack-booted thugs, who thought of themselves
as lord and master over the citizens.

Sounds like they have it all on video. I hope they end up owning the local police franchise.
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Well, until they actually start terminating “officers” who engage in such conduct and remove their ability to “serve” further (thus not letting them “earn” a beloved pension) such conduct will continue.

So, yes, let the dog owners now “own” the local cops, but also let them “own” the individual officers.

You know... One day, someone is going to lose it, and kill a cop or two when they shoot the family dog. When it happens, I hope they just follow the threee “S” cardinal rules (shoot, shovel, shutup). I have absolutely no empathy/sympathy for city/county -paid criminals when this occurs. I view it as cleaning up the gene pool.

Don’t mistake this for defending bad acting cops but
essentially accusing people of signing up for a job where
they would rather do paperwork than be in the field
borders on asinine. I work in a similar field where negative
interaction with people requires report writing before
one goes home after shift. Nobody wants to invite extra
paperwork upon themselves. Those that might would
be called “office staff” and that is where they would stay.

Why are not the dog-loving celebrities speaking out against the shooting of INNOCENT dogs by cops? Is it PC? Do we dare not offend cops? Do we take the side of these cops no matter what because maybe some dogs are aggressive? Why aren’t their fellow officers not doing anything to stop this? These cops need training!

I feel we are as defenseless to stop this as we are of stopping the murder of innocent human life in the womb.. or the destruction of our country for that matter.

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